UK Industrial Strategy prioritises need for “good universal broadband”

The Industrial Strategy Commission, an independent body, published its final report today calling for access for all UK citizens to a “Universal Basic Infrastructure” that includes provisions for solid broadband and mobile internet networks for the whole country.

The Commission says that the Government needs a top-down reassessment of how it treats industrial strategy, adding that it must take a long-term and unbiased view of the UK’s economy.

Outlining its vision of a Universal Basic Infrastructure, which the body says would also include a good quality rail, energy, water and flood defence network, the ISC says that the focus should be on a “modern infrastructure promoting connectivity”.

It goes on to say a universal fibre broadband service would help new and existing businesses, and improve other public services like health or social care.

The ISC’s report adds: “Improvements in productivity in this sector would both benefit these individual places and have an impact on the UK’s overall productivity.”

The news comes at the same time as a new survey of 200 UK businesses found that almost half are not receiving the broadband speeds advertised by service providers.

According to research carried out by Cambridge Broadband Networks (CBNL), 47 per cent of the country’s businesses are not getting promised speeds, while 35 per cent say their operations have been hampered by slow speeds. A further 34 per cent report “significant periods” of network downtime.

CBNL’s research suggests that UK businesses are already being harmed by a lack of connectivity options, too, with 56 per cent of respondents saying that despite a need for more reliable services they choose to remain with their existing ISP.

The reasons for not switching range from a need to avoid further disruption (32 per cent), being tied into long contracts (23 per cent) or having certain service providers mandated as part of a building lease (16 per cent).

The report’s authors add that there is a clear “need for more efficient infrastructure” in the UK, with more than half - 56 per cent - of businesses saying they spend less than 30 per cent of their IR budget on connectivity.

Lionel Chmilewsky, CBNL’s CEO, says that services such as high capacity wireless broadband and other 5G products would make for a big improvement.

He added: “Leveraging innovative techniques, such as this, is key to addressing gaps in broadband service and providing the next generation connectivity that will be central to the long-term success of UK plc.”